Flames and Poison
by reppad98
Summary: A battle between Chili and Roxie turns into something more. One-shot. FlamingGuitarShipping. For The Light's Refrain.


**A/N: **Thank you for clicking on this story! I hope you like it. Also, thanks to a friend for helping me with writing this battle, your feedback was very appreciated :)

This was written as a birthday present for The Light's Refrain. Happy (though very belated) birthday, Light! :D

Thank you, and please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover.**

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**Flames and Poison**

To become a Gym Leader of a certain region, one has to be tested and accepted by all other Gym Leaders of said region.

Roxie knew that very well, and that was the only reason she was sitting here with a plate of Brussels sprouts in front of her. Well, that, and because _this _Gym Leader had decided to be annoying.

Cress and Cilan hadn't been difficult about it. Even though they had said it was a sort of tradition for the challenger to get a meal first, they had told her they made exceptions on that often enough. And so she had beaten them before lunchtime.

Chili however… he had insisted on battling after lunch. Initially she had disagreed, because why wait? It would be a waste of time. But then he had thrown in the argument of her Pokémon having time to rest and after he had added that the meal would be free, Roxie hadn't been able to refuse anymore.

And it wasn't like it was such a problem anyway. Like Chili had said, during the lunch her Pokémon would be able to rest, and fully rested Pokémon would almost guarantee her victory. Plus a free lunch… who could refuse that? If only her waiter would hurry up – she had finished her plate five minutes ago.

She sighed. Besides being the Gym Leader she wanted to challenge, Chili was also her waiter. Although he _had_ tried to call himself her date multiple times already. Of course she'd always corrected him, but it wasn't as if she minded _that_ much.

He was quite handsome, after all.

But that was beside the point. She had come here for a battle, not a date. And so a battle she would have, so focus!

Finally, Chili appeared next to her, picking up her empty plate. Flashing her a bright grin, he asked, "Can I maybe interest you in a dessert? Our restaurant is well known for its wonderful fruit ice-cream. Or perhaps you feel more for a piece of our chocolate cake?"

He had been nothing less than a gentleman the whole lunch, but she could see in the shimmering of his eyes that he was enjoying making her wait. Well, she had had enough. She'd had played his game long enough, and now she would make him lose.

"No thanks, I've had enough," she said, abruptly getting up. After she had grabbed her guitar, she stared at him, challenging. "Let's battle."

"Eager to lose, aren't we?" he said, grinning. Then, jumping back to his waiter mode, he added, "But if that's your wish… then a battle is what you'll get!"

Roxie half-breathed a sigh of relief. _Finally…_

"If you'll follow me…" Chili said, and with that, he grabbed her hand to pull her in the right direction. Before she could pull her hand away – or even think about the fact he had been holding her hand – he had already let go.

"I give you…" he said, spreading his hands and grinning as he stood with his back to a fireplace. "A Striaton Gym battle!"

The walls behind Chili slid aside and the fireplace disappeared in the floor, revealing a huge rocky battlefield. This hadn't happened with her previous battles here, they had just went through the door. But it seemed like Chili liked a bit of a show.

Involuntarily Roxie found herself smiling – this was where she belonged. Her hand went to her belt, her fingers touching the cool metal of her Pokéballs. She walked over to her place on the battlefield and while Chili took place opposite of her, she noticed that Cilan and Cress had joined them. Yes, she remembered from her two earlier battles, the three brothers were always together when it came to battles.

"I will be acting as the referee for this battle," Cilan shouted over the field as he walked over to the side. "This is an official Gym battle for the Trio Badge between Gym Leader Chili and challenger Roxie!"

Roxie closed her eyes for a moment, mentally preparing herself. It wasn't that she wanted or needed a Trio Badge. She already had two. The three brothers would almost undoubtedly accept her as a Gym Leader. She had nothing to lose. Only this match. And she wasn't even going to lose this.

Because she was going to _win_.

When she opened her eyes again, she could see Chili running a hand through his hair, flashing her a big grin. She couldn't help but smile back – the excitement for the battle was flowing through her body.

"This will be an one-on-one battle. The battle will end when one Pokémon is unable to battle," Cilan said. "Are you both ready?"

"Let's do this!" Chili called out, pumping his fist in the air.

_He sure is confident… _Roxie thought, doubting herself for a moment. But no. She had trained for a battle like this for ages, she was totally prepared.

She would beat him.

"Bring it on!" she said, her fingers fluently playing a chord on her bass guitar.

"In that case, I wish you both good luck, and let the battle begin!" And with that, Cilan brought down his hands.

"Because this is a date-" Chili started, but Roxie immediately interrupted him. "I'm not your date! Get that through your head already!"

"I could be your date," he said, wriggling his eyebrows. "What about, if I win, we'll go on a date, and if you win, erm…"

"You have to accept me as a Gym Leader _and_ tell all the other Unova Gym Leaders how you lost to me." Roxie grinned at him, pleased with herself. If she wasn't mistaken, Chili had a bit of an ego, and he wouldn't like to tell everyone about his losses.

Nonetheless, it wasn't that heavy of a bet, and it wasn't like Roxie was _against_ going on a date with him.

"That's a deal!" he yelled excitedly. "Now let's start!"

She nodded in agreement, grinning. "That's right! But just to warn you, I'm _so_ going to win this!"

"Don't be too confident!" he yelled back, and inwardly, she rolled her eyes. As if he had any right to talk, with his cocky attitude.

"Well, since you're the lady, I will give you the advantage," Chili continued, flashing another smile in Roxie's direction. "Pansear, go!"

The Pokéball thrown on the field burst open and in a flash of white light a monkey-like creature appeared. The red Pokémon cried out its name as it landed on both feet, smiling excitedly.

"I don't need your help," she replied coolly. Then she continued with a smirk, her hand closing around a Pokéball on her belt. "I don't even need an advantage. In fact… I will win with a disadvantage!"

With that, Roxie threw the Pokéball on the field, out of which a Whirlipede appeared. The purple tire-like Pokémon immediately narrowed its eyes as soon as it noticed its opponent on the field.

"A Bug Type? Are you sure?" he asked, looking at her surprised.

"Oh damn right I'm sure." Roxie grinned. Her hand went to her bass guitar, quickly playing a tune. "Move to the beat Whirlipede! Poison Sting!"

The purple Pokémon jumped up and span its body quickly, firing glowing purple darts from in between its antennae.

"Avoid them, Pansear!"

The High Temp Pokémon jumped away, but couldn't completely avoid the attack. It cringed as a few of the darts pierced themselves in its upper leg.

"Again Whirlipede!"

"Evade them Pansear," Chili yelled over to his Pokémon, who had already done so before the command had been called out. "Now, use Work Up!"

"Pan-sear, sear!" it called out as its red body glowed an even brighter red.

"Quick Whirlipede, use Roll Out!"

After the Curlipede Pokémon pulled its antennae closer to its body, it started rolling towards Pansear, gaining speed every second.

"Jump away!"

Chili hadn't needed to tell Pansear that, as it had already evaded the onrushing Whirlipede.

"Use Work Up again," Chili called to Pansear. The Pokémon immediately started glowing red again, raising its attack power even further.

"Keep going Whirlipede!" Roxie yelled, her song speeding up as her Pokémon did, once again racing towards Pansear.

"Keep avoiding it!" Chili yelled towards his Pokémon. "And wow, Roxie, your Whirlipede sure is fast."

Being pulled out of her trance for a moment, she grinned at him. "I know."

On the battlefield something that in a strange way resembled tag had started. As soon as Whirlipede came rolling close, Pansear would jump away, which would cause Whirlipede to change direction and roll towards Pansear's new position again. It seemed like a vicious circle.

But Chili knew this couldn't continue like this. At some point Pansear would start getting tired and Whirlipede would actually hit his Pokémon. He had to do something.

"Pansear, put as much distance between you and Whirlipede as you can! Then use Incinerate when it comes close!"

The elemental monkey jumped away once again when Whirlipede came close, then ran over the field until it had reached the white line on Roxie's end. Flames appeared around Pansear's body, growing brighter and bigger as Whirlipede approached once again.

Roxie didn't do anything, didn't call out a command – she didn't even look worried. In fact, if Chili had been able to see her face up close right now, he would've seen a small smirk curling around her lips.

Pansear then released all the fire that had been building up in and around its body at the onrushing Whirlipede, directing a huge jet of fire at the Bug/Poison type.

Chili grinned as his opponent's Pokémon disappeared in the flames. He was about to pump his fist in the air and exclaim happily, when his eyes widened at the scene unfolding in front of him.

Incinerate was a Fire attack, super effective against Bug types, and it should be even more so after the Work Ups.

But Whirlipede was still rolling.

"Pansear, watch-"

But it was too late.

The Fire Pokémon let out a cry of pain as it was hit by Whirlipede at full speed. It flew through the air, before landing back on the ground with a thud.

"Pansear!"

For a moment it lay there motionless, before stirring and pushing itself up.

Chili breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, Pansear! You can do this!"

His Pokémon nodded, trembling slightly, but still with a confident look on his face. The Roll Out had done much damage, being not only super effective against Fire types, but also getting stronger each time it was used. And Roxie had used it multiple times already.

"What just happened?" Cress wondered out loud, wording the confusion visible on his redheaded brother's face. "A hit like that should've taken any Bug Type out, or at least damaged it greatly, especially after those Work Ups…"

Cilan nodded, though after carefully examining Roxie's Pokémon, a look of understanding started to dawn on his face.

Chili however hadn't seen it yet, but Roxie wasn't planning on giving him time to think about this.

"Let's keep going Whirlipede! Poison Sting!" she yelled to her Pokémon.

"Avoid them!"

Though Pansear had gotten slightly slower after the damage it had taken from the face-to-face meeting with Whirlipede's Roll Out, it was still fast enough to avoid the purple glowing darts coming from its opponent.

Why hadn't it been damaged by Pansear's Incinerate… Chili racked his mind. It was a Bug Type, it should've been hurt, badly. So why hadn't it?

He stared at the purplish Pokémon, studying its yellow eye in the middle, the striped antennae, the purplish segments with their barbs and their red ring on the middle- wait a minute…

Those segments! That was a shell! Whirlipede was protected by its shell!

"Pansear, use Incinerate again, but aim at Whirlipede's eye!" Chili called out excitedly.

"Pan-pan!" it replied, starting to glow red again as flames started to appear around it. A moment later a jet of fire was directed towards Whirlipede.

"Protect!"

The fire hit a greenish bubble that had appeared around the Curlipede Pokémon, harmlessly going past its supposed target.

Chili growled in frustration. This should've been an easy battle…

"Not as easy as you expected eh?" Roxie called out to him with a smirk, as if reading his thoughts.

He gritted his teeth, before answering quasi-relaxed, "I like a challenge."

"Obviously," she said, smirking. Playing another chord on her bass guitar, she yelled, "Let's keep rock and rolling Whirlipede! Roll Out!"

On the opposite of the battlefield, Chili's eyes had gotten a certain glint in his eyes.

"He got a plan, doesn't he?" Cilan asked.

"Yes," Cress answered. "He figured it out."

Cilan nodded once in agreement, before silently watching the battle again.

"Keep avoiding, Pansear, but stay close!" Chili commanded. "Try to use Fury Swipes on its eye!"

It nodded once, quickly jumping away from its rapidly approaching opponent once again. As soon as Pansear had landed on the ground again, it took off, running in the direction of Whirlipede.

The Curlipede Pokémon was slowing down to turn around, when it suddenly found its target standing next to it.

"Whirli?"

"Pan-sear!"

With nails glowing bright white, Pansear slashed at the unprotected eye of the tire-like Pokémon.

"Whirlipede!" Roxie called out, but she didn't need to worry. Her Pokémon quickly recovered from the shock, and span away once again.

"Dammit," Chili cursed. "It's just too fast! I need a way to keep it in place…"

He bit his lip, staring at the rolling Pokémon on the field. A moment later his face brightened. "That's it…"

For another moment Chili stood still, waiting, then, as soon as he noticed Whirlipede was going in for another Roll Out, he yelled, "Pansear, grab onto Whirlipede!"

Pansear stood in front of Whirlipede, its eyes narrowing as it waited for the perfect moment. With its hind legs it pushed itself off the ground, jumping over Whirlipede.

The Fire Pokémon landed in the sand, immediately turning around to run after Whirlipede. It chased after it, but the smooth shell and high speed of Whirlipede made it impossible for Pansear to grab onto it.

But then Pansear's paw clasped around one of Whirlipede's antennae.

"Whirli!"

The Curlipede Pokémon immediately came to a halt, hurt by Pansear's rough handling of the most sensitive parts of its body.

"Use Lick Pansear, quick!"

"Don't let it!"

Pansear jumped on Whirlipede, twisting the antenna as it did so, causing the Bug/Poison type to cringe in pain.

"Whirlipede!" Roxie cried out, worry and panic evident in her voice. "Try to shake it off!"

"Lick, Pansear!"

Still holding on tightly to the antenna while Whirlipede was trying to shake it off, Pansear drew its pink tongue over Whirlipede's shell, causing its victim to shudder lightly.

"Yes!" Chili was grinning widely. Finally he was getting the upper hand again. "See Roxie, and this is why-"

"Pan!"

Chili stopped midsentence, his attention reverted back to the battle when an obviously pained Pansear jumped off Whirlipede.

"Pansear, what-?"

"Pan-"It cringed and shuddered, little droplets of sweat appeared on its face. A purplish color appeared on its cheeks, and it was obvious to everyone what had happened.

"It's poisoned!" Cress cried out from the side. "Poor Pansear…"

"It must've been Whirlipede's Poison Point…" Cilan agreed.

Now it was Roxie's turn to grin. Exactly as planned. And then now the last stage of her strategy.

"Whirlipede, Venoshock!"

Chili's eyes widened. Venoshock was twice as effective when the target was poisoned.

"No Pansear, move away, quickly!" he called out panicked. "Quick!"

Shuddering and jerky, Pansear pushed itself up.

But not fast enough.

A green liquid fired from Whirlipede's antennas, hitting Pansear full in the face.

"No!"

Pansear fell back on the ground, face down, unmoving.

"Pansear! Are you okay?! Can you get up?"

But the Pokémon didn't move.

After shooting his younger brother a pitying look, Cilan opened his mouth to declare Roxie's victory.

And then Pansear moved.

"That's impossible," Roxie breathed. "It can't…"

After a hit like that, especially already damaged by the Roll Out, there was no way Pansear could still fight. Her strategy had never failed before.

Yet it seemed that this would be the first time.

"Pansear! C'mon buddy, you can do it!"

From his position on the opposite end of the field, Chili was cheering his Pokémon on, and with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, Roxie watched the Fire type crawl back up again.

"Pansear's endurance is remarkable," she commented coolly after a moment. Then she grinned, playing a quick beat on her bass guitar. "But not good enough. Whirlipede, finish it off with Roll Out!"

The Bug/Poison type started to roll in Pansear's direction, then made a jerky movement to the right, cringing.

"What-"

Bright yellow sparks had appeared on its body, and when Whirlipede tried to continue its attack, they appeared again, making it cringe in pain.

"It's paralyzed! Lick must've paralyzed it! Just as planned!" Chili exclaimed happily, pumping his fist in the air. "Pansear, Incinerate, aim at Whirlipede's eye!"

Roxie, who had been staring wide-eyed at her hurt Pokémon, now came back to her senses, and in a reflex reaction, she yelled, "Whirlipede, Protect!"

But nothing happened.

With a panic-stricken look on her face, Roxie watched how her Pokémon tried to produce the greenish shield, but failed each time when the paralysis hit.

Maybe, after a few more tries, Whirlipede would've succeeded. Maybe, with a bit more time, Whirlipede would've been able to pull through the paralysis and produce the protecting shield. Maybe, if they've had more time…

But they didn't.

Because in the meantime, Pansear had started to glow bright with fire, and now it was directing the build up flames towards its opponent.

"Pannnnnseeaaaaar!"

"Whirlipede!"

Smoke filled the battlefield, and Roxie waved her hands fervently to clear her view. She needed to see her Pokémon.

And then she saw it.

Whirlipede was laying on its side, the distinctive swirl having taken the place of its eye. And a few meters away, Pansear stood, trembling and sweating, but still standing.

After a moment of shocked silence, Cilan yelled over the field, "Whirlipede is unable to battle! The winner is Pansear! Which means that Gym Leader Chili wins the match!"

Without paying any more attention to the three brothers, Roxie ran up the field towards her hurt Pokémon. After kneeling down next to Whirlipede, she patted it on its shell, careful not to touch its poisonous barbs.

"You did great, Whirlipede," she muttered. "You were amazing. We almost won, and we'll definitely win next time. Now enjoy your nice long rest."

With that, she returned her Pokémon to its Pokéball, before placing it back on her belt.

"It needs to be brought to the Pokécenter," she heard Cress say, and looking up, she saw that the three brothers had crowded around the poisoned Pansear.

"Wait guys," she said, getting up, "I have something."

Walking towards them, she pulled something out of her pockets.

"Here Pansear," she said, handing the something to the Pokémon. "It's a Pecha Berry. Cures poisoned Pokémon. You were a great opponent, thanks for a great battle."

That last sentence was also addressed to Chili, and she nodded at him with a smile.

"Great?" Chili said, his eyes glimmering in excitement. He jumped up and pumped his fist in the air, crying out, "It was amazing!"

"Pansear Pansear!" the Pokémon in his arms agreed, looking a lot better now it had finished the Berry.

Roxie grinned at their enthusiasm. "It was definitely one of the best battles I've ever had, yeah. It had a fantastic beat!"

Chili beamed. "Awesome! So, tomorrow same time, same place then?"

"Huh?"

"The date," he clarified, a look of slight nervousness crossing his face. "If you still want to, of course…"

"I'd love to," she said with a grin after a moment of silence. "See ya tomorrow then."

"Cool!"

After giving Chili one more smile, Roxie turned around and walked out of the Gym, raising her hand in a silent goodbye when she left through the doors.

"Well little brother, I think you handled that very maturely," Cress said as soon as Roxie had disappeared out of view, and Cilan nodded in agreement.

Chili stared at the door for a bit longer, before bursting out in cheering. "She likes me, hah! She totally likes me! Woohoo! I have a date!"

Cress opened his mouth to say something, but Cilan stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. Chili wasn't paying attention to them anyway, too busy high-fiving with Pansear.

Cress then settled on just rolling his eyes, shaking his head and at the same time grinning at his brother's antics. "So much for mature Chili."

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**A/N:** Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. Especially you, Light, since you had to wait so long for this :P Anyway, this was my first time writing a battle, well, my first time writing a proper Pokémon battle, and I hope it went okay. Please tell me what you thought about it!

Thank you, and until next time!


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